On Sept. 24, President Obama announced the expansion of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Scientists agree that highly protected marine reserves are critical to reversing the decline of our marine environment from overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Celebrate this historic moment by taking a virtual visit to the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.
Photo Credit: Jan Witting

This marine monument in the south-central Pacific Ocean, about 1,000 miles southwest of the Hawaiian Islands, is home to some of the most primeval and untouched tropical seas in the world. It is remote, uninhabited, and still teeming with wildlife, even though some of the top predators in these waters, including tunas and sharks, are less abundant than they were 50 years ago.
Photo Credit: Amanada Pollock/USFWS

President Obama’s plan for the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument will increase protection of U.S. waters in the Pacific Ocean by up to 671,000 square miles (1.74 million square kilometers). That magnitude is larger than Alaska, and bigger than Texas, California, Montana, and Arizona combined. The result will be the most extensive network of marine protected areas in the world.
Photo Credit: Brian J. Skerry

The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is home to many large predatory species including oceanic whitetip sharks. Although sharks are critical to maintaining healthy ocean environments, their global populations are in major decline. Extending the boundaries of the national monument will create one of the world’s largest refuges for these animals.
Photo Credit: Jim Abernethy

The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument contains remarkably rich coral ecosystems, including some that exist at sizable ocean depths. Although a considerable amount is known about shallow coral ecosystems, it is now thought that more coral species live at great ocean depths than in tropical shallow waters. The oldest corals observed in these deep waters are up to 5,000 years old.
Photo Credit: Jim Maragos/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Research shows that fully protected marine reserves are essential to rebuilding the abundance and diversity of ocean species, and to increasing their resilience to climate change. Hundreds of leading scientists agree that these reserves are critical to reversing the decline of the marine environment and restoring it to health.
Photo Credit: Jan Witting

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